NYPD Trial of Officer Richard Haste (the 1st officer NYPD has put on disciplinary trial for killing of Ramarley Graham, almost 5 years after Ramarley was killed)

Thursday January 19th was the third day of the NYPD administrative trial of Officer Richard Haste, who shot and killed 18-year-old Ramarley Graham on February 2, 2012. Supporters continued to pack the court to support Ramarley’s family who were in attendance, including Ramarley’s mother, sister, and both grandmothers. Supporters who helped to pack the NYPD courtroom today included:

Families who have lost loved ones in NYPD killings incl: the mothers of Eric Garner, Mohamed Bah, Kimani Gray and the nephew of John Collado.

There were four witnesses heard today: two were called by DAO and two called by Haste’s attorneys.

The NYPD’s Department Advocates Office (DAO), who is prosecuting Officer Haste, called two expert witnesses. Inspector Raymond Caroli (a voting member of the NYPD Firearms Discharge Review Board) testified today as an expert witness on firearms and tactics. Sergeant John J Flynn (a supervisor in the NYPD’s specialized training school) testified as an expert in special weapons and tactics.

Both Inspector Caroli and Sergeant Flynn testified in their expert opinion that on February 2, 2012, Officer Haste and other officers did not have authority to enter Ramarley’s 2nd floor apartment as there were no emergency circumstances to warrant the “breach of the door” and forced entry into the apartment. As a member of the NYPD Firearms Discharge Review Board, Inspector Caroli also testified to having voted that Officer Richard Haste and members of his unit had failed to follow department guidelines, including in their unwarranted entry into the apartment.

Haste’s attorneys called 2 witnesses: Sergeant Scott Morris and Officer John Mcloughlin, who were present with Officer Haste on February 2, 2012. Both Sgt Morris and Officer McLoughlin are also currently facing NYPD charges. Disciplinary trial dates have not been calendared for either – in spite of it being almost 5 years after Ramarley was killed. McLoughlin was Haste’s partner and was the officer who kicked open the door to Ramarley’s apartment. Sgt Morris was the SNEU team supervisor, and the ranking officer present when his unit racially profiled Ramarley, busted into the home, shot and killed Ramarley, and rushed Ramarley’s body out within 15 minutes of being killed – making it impossible to do a thorough investigation of the crime scene.

Officer McLoughlin testified that he had never been trained for the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit (SNEU) that he and Richard Haste were assigned to when Ramarley was killed.

Both Sergeant Morris and Officer McLoughlin made a number of false assertions that DAO attorneys easily disproved with video evidence. Officer McLoughlin testified that Ramarley Graham was running from polic; he had to recant this when DAO Attorney Douglas presented video clearly showing Ramarley walking calmly to his home.

Sergeant Morris falsely claimed he and other officers were in “hot pursuit” of Ramarley; DAO showed video evidence disproving this since Sergeant Morris was simply walking at a leisurley pace to the back entrance of Ramarley’s home after hearing that entry had been made through the back door.

The DAO concluded their cross examination of Sergeant Morris with this exchange:

“Less than 5 minutes after OP tells you there is man with a gun, this young man is shot dead.”

“Yes.”

“And there was no gun.”

Commentary on Day 3:

Family members of Ramarley Graham who have been present for Haste’s NYPD disciplinary trial have had to endure listening to accounts of what happened that include a web of lies and major omissions. This has included:

Richard Haste’s attorneys attempting to frame Ramarley as if he was a “hardened criminal”. The facts:

Ramarley was doing nothing wrong. He had committed no crime. He was walking in his own neighborhood with his friends and then walked home. He was going home to prepare to see his girlfriend. He wasn’t “fleeing” or running from officers (as video evidence clearly proves). He should have been safe in his own home. He should not have been gunned down in front of his 6 year old brother and grandmother.

#NYPDLies - NYPD witnesses and attorneys made false statements that were largely uncontested until late Wednesay – For example:

It was mis-stated several times during the trial that Ramarley was “fleeing”, running and that officers were in “hot pursuit” when video evidence entered into the trial clearly contradicts this, with Ramarley seen walking calmy into his house, most likely unaware that he was being followed by officers.

Morris & McLaughlin claimed (even though they didn’t witness it) that Haste secured consensual entry to the 1st floor apartment of Ramarley’s house. The reality was that there was no consent – an 8 year old opened the door to Richard Haste at gunpoint. The testimony today claimed that an adult consented to opening the door to Haste and allowing him to run through his house. (In fact, there was no mention of the 8 year old child who opened the door). An 8 year old at gunpoint can’t give consent.

Morris & McLaughlin’s testimony created an impression that Haste and Ramarley were the only ones in the hallway when Haste & McLaughlin busted into Ramarley’s home. The truth is that Ramarley’s grandmother was in front of Ramarley when NYPD broke down their door. Ramarley tried to step ahead of his grandmother to protect her when unknown intruders broke down their door. Ramarley’s grandmother thought she was shot when Haste fired because she was right there.

Sign and share this petition by the Nation and Communities United for Police Reform, calling for the firing of Officer Richard Haste and ALL officers involved in the killing of Ramarley Graham and related misconduct: http://bit.ly/RamarleyGrahamPetition

View/share this short video explaining why officers must be fired for Ramarley Graham: bit.ly/RamarleyVid

For other info on the #FireHaste and #FireNYPD for #RamarleyGraham campaign: riseup4ramarley.org